Science Siftings

New Zealand Tablet, 21 September 1911, Page 1883

Science Siftings

By ‘ Volt.’

The Value of Wireless Telegraphy. ‘ Many of you,’ said Sir Joseph Ward at the lettercarriers’ social at Wellington, ‘ have not had an experience that I have had. 1 went to bed at 8 o clock one night at sea, 500 or 700 miles away from New Zealand, and at 11 o’clock was awakened by a steward handing me a telegram which contained an initvation to a social gathering all those miles away. . . • You commence to realise,’ the Prime Minister added, £ when this sort of thing occurs, that there is nothing of . the experimental stage ” about wireless telegraphy nowadays.’ He went on to say that during his voyage out _to New Zealand the ship was always in communication with some place or some other ship. Every day they had news of the doings of the world. The accuracy of this hews was quite extraordinary. Only on one occasion had he had reason to have one doubtful word repeated. Another Westinghouse Invention. It is announced that Mr. George Westinghouse, the well-known American engineer, has invented an airspring device to supplant automobile tyres. The main feature of the invention is a double cylinder, the upper part attached at the top of the chassis frame, and the lower part at the bottom of the axle. The one cylinder telescopes into the other, and inside are tubes permitting of piston action in oil and air. When the car is running the pistons are working constantly. The spring suspension is - accurately and automatically adjusted to suit the load. For every inch of telescopic action the air is compressed by a greater percentage of its original volume, and consequently the resistance increases more rapidly. Tests under the most severe conditions have been made of this device, and it is said that they have proved its practicability. A Curious Bridge. In Java the Government engineers have recently constructed a road bridge, more than 100 ft long with a central span of over 60ft, entirely of bamboo. The road bed is composed of bamboo matting, which will be covered with a layer of dry earth. In profile the bridge resembles a steel structure, but all the members are bamboo rods. It is estimated that such a bridge should be good for 10 or 15 years. There are two kinds of bamboo used in building and cabinet-making in the Eastone having solid and the other hollow stems. The solid, seen in Japanese furniture, is much smaller than the hollow, but both belong to the same species. In the construction of bamboo houses no nails are used. The parts are bound together with lashings formed from the skin of the bamboo itself. Liquids Sold in Blocks. Everything on sale is frozen solid in the city of Irkutsk, in Central Siberia, when winter reigns there. The markets are an interesting sight. Frozen fish are piled up in stacks like so much timber, and meat likewise. Some animals brought into the market whole are propped on their legs, and have the appearance of being actually alive, and as you go through the markets you seem to be surrounded by living pigs, sheep, oxen, and fowls, all standing up and watching you as though you were a visitor to the farmyard. Even the liquids are frozen into a block in this way, with a string or a stick frozen into or projecting from it. This, of course, is for the conveninece of the purchaser, who can take his milk by the string or stick and carry it home swung across his shoulder.